Calvin de Haan not on same page with Jeremy Colliton about his status for season opener

Former Hurricanes defenseman Calvin de Haan has yet to skate in a game for the Blackhawks since the summer trade, but remains a possibily for Friday. | AP Photos

PRAGUE — Calvin de Haan’s eyebrows jumped slightly when reporters told him Wednesday he was on the Blackhawks’ finalized active roster.

“I guess you guys know more than I do,” he said, perplexed. “I don’t think that’s the plan as of right now.”

Coach Jeremy Colliton, speaking a bit later, smirked when asked about de Haan’s confusion.

“The plan for him doesn’t change: Just try to get ready, and then we’ll tell him if he’s playing or not,” Colliton said.

The coach added that he believed de Haan was almost ready, shortly after de Haan said he had to “grind” just to get through the first team practice in Prague, two days ahead of the regular-season opener against the Flyers.

Colliton did admit that the Hawks don’t want to rush de Haan, and de Haan likewise admitted he thinks he could “survive a hockey game” if needed.

Nevertheless, it was an odd — if not entirely surprising — moment of disconnect.

The team hadn’t practiced since Monday in Berlin, after which they flew to Prague and then had Tuesday off. During that time, the front office finalized the roster — as was required by NHL rules — and technically sent down prospect defenseman Dennis Gilbert to the AHL, making de Haan one of six active defensemen.

But Gilbert remains in Europe, and practiced with the team Wednesday. With Carl Dahlstrom claimed on waivers by Winnipeg (forcing him to catch a commercial flight back to North America), and Connor Murphy placed on injured reserve, the former Notre Dame blue-liner is the Hawks’ insurance plan for Friday.

“I don’t really try to think about the numbers, just try to control what I can control,” Gilbert had said back in Berlin.

Dennis Gilbert (left) entered training camp penned in for another year in the AHL, and finished it on the cusp of an NHL spot.

Before his on-paper demotion, Gilbert had drawn praise for his September surge up the depth chart, relying on his physicality and much-improved skating to cement his role in the organization.

Duncan Keith, unprompted, raved about Gilbert on Monday, calling him a “big, strong guy that gives you another element out there.”

Whether that role begins this week or sometime in the future, however, depends on de Haan, who was brought in from the Hurricanes in June to add a reliable, conservative defensive presence.

At the time, de Haan was still recovering from end-of-season shoulder surgery and was expected to recover sometime in October. Yet his shoulder has been fully healed for weeks now, he said, and it’s a minor but hard-to-shake groin injury suffered during summer rehab that continues to cloud his status.

“I’d rather be healthy in March, April, May, June, versus trying to grind out for the first five months of the year and just have a nagging injury,” he said. “[I’m] trying to do everything right. Just sometimes you need a bit of a miracle here and there to help you get through these things.”

Slater Koekkoek, an unexpectedly consistent factor within a tumultuous training camp of injuries and cuts for the Hawks’ defense, will be either de Haan or Gilbert’s partner on the third pair against the Flyers. At least that is practically certain.

Koekkoek skated with de Haan during 4-on-2 drills in practice Wednesday and the two meshed well.

“I’d like to be with him,” Koekkoek said. “Any time you can get a veteran guy like that in here and help each other out, I think our games would complement each other pretty well.”